the lives of the westerleys
by gymnastgirl123
Summary: should be a long fic.Part1-Nikki wants to get a new ipod for cameron after his dad smashed his, but she doesn't have the money so she tries to steal it-story starts when she gets caught. will contain much more than just this event.love bradin/nik sib fluf
1. Chapter 1

Okay- I don't own anything and I just wanted to give you a heads up that a spanking may be mentnioned, but it is not at all the main point of this story and will not be discussed in detail, just mentioned! No flames or angry reviews about this, please! Review, review review!!

Chapter 1

Nikki watched in fear as the man went to talk to the manager about what to do. _ Oh no- im so dead- I just wanted to help Cameron! _ Nikki watched the man's face turn solemn. Then, he turned and walked over to her.

"Young lady, I'm going to need to call your parents- may I have a phone number? He said.

"Um.." nikki paused…_who's number should I give…_ _I guess Jay's the only one in town…_ " 206-450-7382"

"Thank you" the manager responded- "and who will I be talking to?"

"Jay" Nikki answered

The manager gave her a slight nod "ill be right back once I call your father" he said as he turned and walked towards his office.

As he was leaving he heard soft sniffle- he looked back and saw tears rolling down Nikki's face. She was mumbling " Breden says you're always watching. Dad- I'm so sorry- I was just trying to help Cameron…………oh dad must be so disappointed" then he heard Nikki sigh right before he shut the office door.

"Hello?" Jay said, wondering who it was- he didn't recognize the number.

"Hello Jay- this is Peter- Peter Jones- I'm the manager of **Technologies of Playa Linda**,if you're familiar with it…"

" Yeah- but, um- how may I help you" Jay responded- he was getting confused as to what was going on..

" Sir, I have Nikki here- she just tried to steal an ipod"

"What?!" Jay yelled… "I'm so sorry- I'll be right over to get her- I work just across the street at the surf shop..

"Thank you." Peter said, seeming quite relieved… "bye"… he put down the phone and walked out of his office…

As peter walked out of his office, he saw a man run into the shop… the man glanced at nikki and gave her an annoyed yet stern look then looked back at Peter- " I'm so sorry its just"-

" its alright- but can I have a word with you in my office?" Peter interrupted

"oh- sure" jay replied. He looked back at nikki- " don't go anywhere!"

Once the two men were in the office, Jay started-" I'm so sorry- it won't happen again-"

"I'm sure it won't- she seems like a good kid- but if you don't mind, um, are you her father?"

Jay got a really shocked look on his face then hurriedly said- " oh-no- it's a long story but her parents died a couple of months ago and she lives with her aunt Ava and I'm one of Ava's 3 roommates- the only one in town this week and- why do you ask?"

A look of understanding crossed Peter's face " I told her I'd be back once I called her father- I sort of assumed that's what you were her dad – and as I was walking to my office I heard her crying and muttering that _**Braden said**__**mom and dad would always be watching her and they wanted her to do her best**_Peter said, cautiously, trying not to get anything wrong - **and then she started apologizing to her dad**. When I came out of the office she was saying **" **_**dad must be so disappointed- if I hadn't done this I wouldn't have let him down"**_- does that mean anything to you?"

" Yeah, it does" jay sighed " poor kid- she really took it hard when her parents died" jay continued "thank you so much for telling me that and for not pressing charges and- well thanks so much" he paused- " well, I'd better go deal with her"

" no problem- and don't be too hard on her- she seems like a good kid" peter said

"yeah, she is- but I've still talk with her and her aunt will probably ground her - this whole parenting thing is insane- but I'm glad you told me what she was saying- I didn't know she was still that upset.

" no problem" peter replied.

The two men shook hands and Jay left the office.

_Well- now I've got to_ figure out what to do about NikkiJay thought as he stepped out of the office


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jay's POV

" come on Nikki" I said "we're going"

As soon as we left the building, I started up on her- somehow the words just came- I didn't even have to think about it. I made sure not to raise my voice, because I knew how much that scares her, but I couldn't help the angry edge to my voice - " Nikki, what the hell were you thinking- that you were just gonna walk out the door with an ipod and somehow the alarms wouldn't go off? We started walking back to my shop, but we had to stop at the crosswalk near the coffee shop to wait for the light to turn green.

" I didn't really think about that" Nikki responded"

" **I noticed" I said, almost sarcastically** but what's important was that you even thought about doing it- and an ipod?- you already have one! What was this- a fun little experiment because you were bored?!

I glanced over to see if my words were sinking in- she looked scared. Oh great, I hadn't meant to scare her- but, I thought, maybe she'll learn faster this way.

"N-no. I just… I wanted to give it to Cameron for Christmas" nikki stammered- I really had scared her…

What do you mean? I questioned

His dad smashed his and he used to love his and I just wanted to do something nice for him and I couldn't afford it and…she continued

"Why didn't you just ask one of us, Nik? We would have helped you- you could have even asked Braden" I said

"I thought that it wouldn't be very special if I gave it to him and had to say that really It was from one of you guys" Nikki replied, her face still showed that she was scared.

"We could have paid you to watch Derek, or to make dinner, or mow the lawn. I could have gotten you a job at my shop. I angrily informed her

"i- I didn't think that-" she stuttered

"and that's just the problem- you didn't think. Nikki- you've got to start thinking"- I cut in. oh no, I was pretty much yelling at her now. I could tell she was fighting back tears. But I had to 

get through to her somehow. "And the sooner you start using your head before launching all these crazy plans, the sooner we'll be able to avoid these situations" . "If what I've heard about your parents is right, they would have been pretty disappointed. "I finished. Thank god that's over, I thought. The tears were now rolling down her face and she was taking in deep shaky breaths. I hated thinking that I had caused it, but I knew I had made my point- and I felt pretty confident that she wouldn't be stealing anytime soon. The sight of her really broke my heart- _she's just a little girl who lost her parents _I thought. I tried to place myself in her shoes… _and she's so confused by everything latel._

Now using a gentle voice, I said, " nikki, I-

" Jay!"

- I looked over and saw Braden, sitting at one of the coffeeshop tables- I could tell he had heard most of the discussion-

" I've got a question about a surf trick- can you spare a second?" Braden asked-

"sure", I said- " I'll be back in a second, nik" and I walked over to Braden

" Whats up" I said

" what are you doing to her- can't you see you're making her cry?- whatever she did, it couldn't have been that bad" Braden asked angrily

" Braden, she just tried to steal an ipod from the store" I informed him

I watched as Braden's whole expression changed- he looked shocked- then serious but overwhelmed- he looked up at the sky and gave a sigh "oh, God" he said, a pained expression on his face. He tore his eyes off the sky and look at me, his expression turning to anger again. But you didn't have talk to her like that- lectures like that really shake her up!. d-

"bradin!" I said, " If I didn't shake her up, she'd think it was okay to steal!"

I doubt she'll ever think that, bradin said. the anger was gone from his face and was replaced by understanding and guilt for having spoke to jay like that "but I guess you're actually sort of right. He paused- and I've seen her get into lots of messes…I know she'll remember what you said for a long time" braden said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I just hope I didn't hurt her " I said

" No" he sighed ... "she'll be okay…. that stuff really affects her … but now she'll think twice about stealing. " braden said. He was quiet for a second then he said "one time I tried to steal 

something and just the way my dad spoke to me was enough to make me never want to steal again. I just knew I never wanted to let him down like that again. . He was so disappointed, so angry, so let down. Braden finished. "and I think," he said, now looking up at me "your words just had the same affect on Nikki"

"I hope so" I said "But I still have to come up with a punishment-the others would kill me if I didn't and, oh I don't know"

Braden hesitated, then looked up at me " when I tried to steal something, my dad whipped the living daylights out of me" he said, wincing as he remembered it "and then he grounded me for a week- I've never thought of stealing since. He half smiled to himself at the memory- "but I think you're in luck on this one- Johnny called and said he has a meeting tomorrow night so he's coming home around dinner tonight"

" thank gosh- I thought I was gonna die" I said, relieved "now I can just make Johnny do it-

" Yeah, but I really think Nikki's learned her lesson.she doesn't need that- she's already beating herself up over this, and she's been through so much. Shes a good kid- she just messed up once. Let it go!": Braden said, building up anger as he talked

"I know, Braden- but she needs to learn the consequences of her actions. And we've got to make sure she doesn't steal again" I insisted

"She won't- "braden interuppted

" that's what we're making sure of" I shot back

"but-" braden said, but I cut him off

" you really don't have a say in this, okay Braden?!. Us adults are going to figure this out. You can talk to her after we do whatever we're gonna do, but you can't tell us how to discipline her" I firmly, ending the discussion

braden glared at me, but stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. I could just see his heart breaking at the fact that he couldn't stop what was going to happen to his baby sister.

" Good. Now I've gotta get back to the shop and figure out what to do with Nikki for the rest of the day" I said

" I'll take her back" bradin said,sighing, but obviously still mad at me- I'm going home anyways". I contemplated his offer- _what if he lets her leave the house or have lots of fun or- oh stop it, _I thought, _Braden knows how serious this is- and if she has fun, well that's fine- she _

_won't be having fun later- and even though Braden probably won't lecture her, she just needs her big brother to calm her down right now_… "okay- thanks a lot, man- you saved my life" I said.

" no problem" braden answered- "but you might wanna to say something to her before you leave-".he said, gesturing to nikki

" of course" I said… I walked over to nikki, who was sitting on the ledge- the tears were still streaming down her face- " I;m sorry " she said sadly…

"nikki…" I started, being careful to use a much gentler, calmer voice than before " you're a good kid, okay?... just don't let it happen again.

"okay" she answered softly but I could tell she still didn't feel like I'd forgiven her.

I quickly pulled her into a hug- " I love you so much nikki" I said.

"I love you too" she whispered

I knew it would take awhile for her to move on from what I'd said- I could tell I'd shaken her up, but I knew that in the end, she'd be alright. " okay, Nikki- Braden is gonna take you home"

" okay" she said really softly, and gave a small nod as she got up and walked over to Braden.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Braden's POV

I watched as Nikki turned away from Jay and came over to me. I gave her a small smile and we silently fell into step, walking back to Aunt Ava's. Nikki didn't say anything, but I could tell she was really beating herself up over this. " Come on, Nik, it's not that bad" I pressed

"yes, it is, Braden – you don't know anything" Nikki angrily replied, tears still falling down her face

"Well, I do know that jay said some things that really shook you up, but now you'll never steal again. And Jay knows that, so he's forgiven you. And I know that Aunt Ava and Johnny will be mad, but whatever they decide to do to you, it'll all be over in a couple of weeks. And they'll have forgiven you by then." I said, keeping my eyes on the trees ahead of us. "And I also know that you're beating yourself up over this, which you shouldn't. –

" I think I've got pretty good reason" nikki said glumly

"No nik, you don't" I stopped and turned to look at her and made eye contact with her " you made a mistake, nik, everyone does that. And as long as you don't do it again, it really isn't that big of a deal.". nikki just kept staring straight ahead. " and I also know that you think you let us down, and that we'll all think less of you because of this. And that's not true, Nik. Because you've done so many great things that outshine this one mistake. It's gonna be okay nik, I promise" . nikki turned to me and looked at me. I saw tear streaks on her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy

"really?" she asked

" yeah", I said, a sad smile on my face then I pulled her into a hug. We stayed there like that for a moment, her taking in the situation and clinging to the one person who wasn't mad at her and me hoping to somehow spread my love to her body and let her know how much I love her

"I hope so" she said, in return to my recent promise

"I know so" I responded. "Now let's get back- we've got some sundae's to make". I said. Nikki grinned.

"Let's go!" she said.

We walked back to the house, but when we walked in the door we saw Johnny, who was pacing back and forth across the living room. He crossed his arm and glared at nikki. I looked over at her" she looked terrified.

" get up to your room- I'll be there in a minute" Johnny demanded. Nikki ran out of the room. I took a deep breath and turned to him, ready to accept what he was going to do, whether I liked it or not.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

No one's POV

Johnny waited until Nikki left the room.

"What are you going to do to her, Johnny" Braden quietly asked, his preparedness to accept the situation for before had gone.

"I don't know. But jay said his dad would have tanned his hide, and my dad woulda' done the same, so-"he paused, confidence growing in his new plan "I think that's what I'll do" Johnny said, with a nod of his head.

"Wait!" Braden insisted, starting up the same argument with Johnny as he had just had with jay "- she's really a good kid- can't you just ground her- I know she won't do it again"

"I'm sure she won't when I'm done with her. " Johnny said, becoming more and more sure of his plan.

" Johnny, you can't do that to her! she's a good kid. she was just trying to help Cameron" Braden persisted.

Johnny said, determined and sure of himself, " I can and I will- and I know she was trying to help but we would have helped her if she'd asked- but she didn't think- we've gotta make sure she starts thinking before she acts.

"but-" Braden said, but Johnny interrupted him.

" Braden! I'm gonna handle this okay?! If you had stolen something, would your dad have done the same?"Johnny questioned.

Braden replied, with a defeated " yeah, he did"…"but that was before the accident." He paused, sadness filling his face. " nikki's been through a lot and right now shes so confused about everything and she just needs to feel loved. This could really throw of the little progress she's made at settling in… "

"Nikki 'll be okay" Johnny assured braden- "-but I've got to teach her this lesson - Braden, I'm doing this to help her."

Braden gave and upset yet defeated sigh, with look on his face that said _well, I guess that's whats its gonna be._

"Good" johhny said, and he walked toward the stairs, but stopped as braden said " but I get to talk to her, afterword, okay? Even if you tell her she's not allowed to see anyone for a while."

" Okay" Johnny said, smiling. "you know, you're a good brother to her"

" I try" braden said, giving a small, sad smile


	5. Chapter 5

Hey! I'm updating again! Sorry for the long wait . More reviews would be great and thanks so much to those of you who did review!

Cynthia1993:I know, Johnny is mean for doing that. But he'll feel guilty later, never fear!! Thanks!

6Ellie6: Thanks! I agree w/ you on Johnny. I know, there aren't nearly enough Summerland fics out there!

Chapter 5: No one's POV:

"_What have I done?" _Bradin thought as he listened to Johnny's footsteps going up the stairs. _" I just told him he could hurt my little sister! This is going to mess up everything." _Bradin sighed. "_Poor kid. She's already beating herself up over this and now she's just going to be so hurt and confused that she won't know what to do." _ Bradin continued his thoughts until his mind flashed back to a memory in Kansas…just a few months before their parent's death…. The first part he only knew because of what Nikki told him- but he was sure it was the truth because Nikki never lied.

_Nikki was in the Barn, finishing up milking the cows before lunch when the next-door neighbor boy walked in. It was Jake, a boy that Nikki had a big crush on, but wasn't really the best example. He was holding a lit cigarette. _

"_Um, Hi" Nikki said, warily eyeing the cigarette. _

" _hey. want a puff?" he asked, his face clearly showing that he thought she should._

" _No, i-I can't" Nikki stammered_

" _Not scared, are you?" Jake taunted. _

_Nikki, struggling between impressing the boy and doing what she knew was right, finally succumbed to the peer pressure. " No, I'm not scared! Here, I'll try it." She took the cigarette and put her lips to it, just as her mother walked into the barn._

" _Nikki, lunch is rea-" she stopped abruptly as she saw what Nikki was doing. Nikki's eyes widened as she hurriedly returned the cigarette to Jake. As soon as Ms. Westerly overcame her shock, anger bubbled up inside her. "Nikki Westerly, what do you think you're doing?! " she yelled. She turned to Jake. "I think it's time you went home", she said, trying to control her voice. _

" _yes, Mrs.Westerley" he replied, as he turned to leave. _

"_And Jake?" Mrs. Westerley called. He turned to look at her. _

" _yes ma'am?" he asked_

" _I hope you know that I'll have to tell your parents about this." she replied_

_The fear showed in his eyes as he quietly said "I know" and walked out the door. _

_Mrs. Westerley then turned to Nikki. " I hope you know how disappointed in you I am." She quietly said, now that she had a lid on her anger. "Go on up to your room, Nikki, and wait until your father gets home. I've got to talk to him. I'll send someone up with your lunch." Nikki, tears streaming down her face in shame, turned and ran upstairs, pushing past Bradin who was opening the door for her and ignoring him and Derrick yelling her name in question. Mrs. Westerly walked in the back door a minute after Nikki and shut the door behind her. She sighed as she leaned against the back of the door and put her face in her hands._

"_mom?" came bradin's concerned voice. " what happened?"_

_Mrs. Westerly looked up. "I just caught Nikki and Jake smoking in the barn". She whispered, trying to keep it so that derrik, who was in the kitchen, wouldn't hear. _

"_You what?!- are you sure?" bradin exclaimed._

" _Yes, I'm sure…oh, I don't know what I'm going to do." She said, sighing as she sat down at the table. " I just hope this isn't something she's done before." _

" _don't worry, mom. I'm sure it was just a one time thing- Dad's going to make sure of that." Braden stated grimly. _

" _yes, well this time she really deserves it. I just… thought she was strong enough to refuse things like that." She replied, looking like she was about to cry. _

" _mom, I think she usually is… she just …messed up." Bradin said, trying not to spill the fact that nikki liked jake. _

"_big time" Mrs. Westerly confirmed as finished putting some salad and a sandwich on Nikki's plate. She handed them and a glass of lemonade to Braden. " here, can you take these up to nikki?"_

"_sure" braden said with a small nod as he took the food and went up the stairs to Nikki's room. _

"_and hurry back- we're waiting to start lunch" she called. _

" _I will" braden called back as he walked down the hall to nikki's room. He knocked on the door. There was no answer. "nik?". Silence. "can I come in, nik?"he asked in a concerned voice.. _

"_yes" nikki replied in a shaky voice. _

_Bradin opened the door and stepped in. his heart broke at what he saw. Nikki laying on her side, curled up on the bed. She was trembling as the tears poured down her cheeks. "nik" he said softly. She looked up at him. Bradin walked over to her bed, set the food on her bedside table, and gently picked her up under her arms, and sat down on the bed. He held her for a few moments, her sitting on his lap, burying her face in his shoulder as she sobbed, while he rubbed her back and whispered " its gonna be okay, nik". _

"_no, it's not. Dad's gonna be so upset and you should have seen the look on mom's face- she was so disappointed. " nikki sobbed, her body shaking with tears. "I didn't even want to do it but I just didn't want jake to think I was scared."._

_Braden had already known this but upon hearing her say it, he realized she liked jake more than he thought. He then got up and set her down on the bed by herself as he got up and stood on the floor. He out his hands on her shoulders and bent over so that he could look nikki right in the face. He opened his mouth to talk but stopped when he heard their mother's voice. "braden! Hurry up" she yelled._

_Braden called back "okay, I'm coming." But then turned back to nikki. "nik, no guy that cares about doing illegal things is worth it. And especially not one that doesn't respect what you say." He paused as Nikki glumly looked back at him but didn't say anything. " You've got to forget about him"he urged. . Braden then gave a small nod and stood up to leave. On his way out he said "and nik?" she looked up at him "mom and dad…well, even though they're mad now, it'll all be over in a couple of weeks". When she looked doubtfully at him, Braden said. "Trust me, I've done dumber things and they forgave me". And with that, he turned and walked downstairs to join his mother and brother for lunch. They ate lunch and then derrick and braden went out to work in the field. As the were planting corn, derrik said "braden?" _

"_yeah?" bradin responded._

"_what happened with nikki?" he asked, his young face full of concern for his sister. _

"_she, um…did something really stupid and now she's a mess." Bradin answered, making sure not to tell derrick what she did. They didn't want to give derrik any ideas. _

"_Nikki's in trouble!?" derrik exclaimed "boy, am I gonna make fun of her!" he said, starting to run off, but Bradin gently caught his arm and pulled him back. He looked derrik in the eyes and said _

"_Derrik, remember when you back- talked mom and dad told you watch and you said 'shut up'?" bradin asked. Derrik nodded. "And remember when nikki came in and hugged you after dad whipped you" he continued. Derrik nodded again, looking slightly guilty of what he was planning to do. "well then I think you know what's right" braden said and then stuck his shovel into the ground. _

"_what's that supposed to mean?" derrik asked._

"_I leave you to figure that out" braden said, and then he walked back to the barn to put his tools away. _

_Derrik ended up listening to Braden and left nikki alone. Nikki was taken to the barn and got a whipping that night- 12 lashes- and then ran inside to braden's room while he just rocked her and comforted her for hours. Their dad was always rough with them for about a day after a whipping to make them think about it before giving them a hug and letting them know he loved them. This made the time after the whipping extra stressful on the child. Nikki didn't know what she'd do without Braden…_

Braden's mind flashed back to the present tense as he heard Johnny yell "NOW!".


End file.
